


The Right Thing

by ThatWheelchairChick



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Cheating, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:21:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29241246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatWheelchairChick/pseuds/ThatWheelchairChick
Summary: When Dean kisses Rory in 'Raincoats and Recipes', she stops him and does the right thing. Oneshot.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	The Right Thing

**Author's Note:**

> So I usually write about dark topics but I have several small stories where I write about not-so-dark things. I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the quotes taken directly from the season 4 finale, Raincoats and Recipies. I hope you enjoy.

"Stop!" I said firmly, pushing Dean away and ending the kiss, "You're married."

"Rory," He said with a sigh, "It's over."

"Does she know that?" I asked, "Because until then, I refuse to even consider this."

He shook his head, "But she knows it's not working so it's not a big deal."

He went in to kiss me again and I stepped back, "I said no. You are still with her, and therefore, it is a big deal."

He rolled his eyes, "Come on, Rory. I know you want this as much as I do."

I looked away from him, my eyes welling up with tears, "Please leave."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him sigh again before walking out. I heard the door shut moments later and I sunk down onto my bed, tears streaming down my face.

_What do I do now?_

* * *

"Rory! Oh, my God. You're missing everything," She shouted, running up the stairs, "Grab those CDs and head back to the inn before you miss the cross-dressing midgets. That's where the night is headed. Oh! Things are happening; big things, wow things. I have so much to tell you."

I stood up and walked out of my room as she ran back down the stairs, "Let me just open with this little tidbit; Kirk running naked through the square. Of course, with all my careful planning and preparation, I forgot to bring Band-aids and a camera. I have got to learn that, always, without fail, Kirk equals camera."

I cracked a smile at that, and I knew that the story would cheer me up. She walked into the kitchen, her face flushed, but the colour drained from her face as she set eyes on me, "What's wrong?"

"Dean kissed me," I said, "And I think he wanted more."

"What?" She asked, her eyes widening.

"I said no and told him that I wouldn't even consider anything unless he left Lindsay," I told her, "But he kissed me... what do I do now? Do I tell Lindsay?"

She looked unsure of herself all of a sudden, "I don't know but it seems like the right thing to do."

"But you didn't ever tell Sherry about you and Dad," I said, "But then again, they were only dating rather than married, so it's a bigger deal with what Dean did."

"We'll sleep on it," She said softly, ignoring my comment about Sherry, "Grab those CDs, we'll go back to the inn, we'll forget about it tonight and make a plan tomorrow."

I nodded, and went back into my room to get the CDs.

* * *

The next morning after we ate, we snuck away to a cupboard to talk while the two enjoyed their buffet-style breakfast. We needed to figure out what we were doing.

"Do you want to tell Lindsay?" She asked, leaning against the door.

I shrugged, "I don't know. I feel like I should, but I also don't want to because what do I even say to her – I'm sorry that I gave my ex-boyfriend the impression that I wanted to be with him? No matter how I put this, she's probably going to be mad at me, too."

"You can't make everyone happy all the time, Rory," Mom said, "You know this. And she'd probably hate you less if you told her, rather than keeping it a secret."

I rested my head against the wall, resisting the urge to repeatedly bang it, "I know. What do I say to her? And how do I make sure that Dean isn't home when I do it? I think it'll go better if he isn't there as it takes away the possibility of him trying to make me out to be a liar."

"Do you think he'd actually do that? I mean, Jess, sure, but Dean?" She questioned, and I laughed bitterly.

"He cheated on his wife with no hesitation. The Dean I knew would never do that, so what else would he be willing to do that he wouldn't have done before?" I pointed out, turning my head so I could look at her, "I cheated on him. I kissed Jess at Sookie's wedding and he knew something was going on between us, and I can't believe he would do that to someone when he knows what it's like."

"You're his first love. He's yours. Unfortunately, our first loves make us do things we wouldn't usually do," Mom countered, but I sighed.

"I didn't make him do it. If that's what he wanted, he should have left Lindsay, cut contact with me or found a way to deal with it. No one made him act on those feelings."

"Okay, let my rephrase; you never get over your first love and we struggle to do the right thing around them. Some people just can't resist," She said, "It's not any less wrong, but it's explainable."

"None of this helps me. I just need to know what to do and what to say."

"I can't help you there, kid," Mom admitted, "I don't have enough experience for this."

"I'll go into Doose's and see if Dean is working. If he is, I'll go to his place and hope Lindsay is home. And then I'll hope that she lets me in."

"And what will you say?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I'll make it up on the spot."

* * *

After lunch with Grandma (in which I turned down her offer to go to Europe), I headed to Doose's to see if I could spot Dean. He was putting some stock out and I quickly left, hoping that he didn't see me. I walked to their place and knocked on their door, hoping I didn't lose the nerve before she answered.

"Rory?" She questioned suspiciously as she opened the door, "Dean isn't here, and anyway, he told me that you two weren't friends anymore."

"Dammit Dean," I muttered, "I'm here to talk to you. It's important."

Her lips parted, a look of despair flooding her face. She then stepped back, "Come on in."

I stepped in and looked around. It was nicely decorated and quite a simple place. It wasn't something that I liked, but it was nice enough. Lindsay fidgeted with her hands for a second, "Why are you here?"

"Last night, Dean came to my house. He told me that your marriage wasn't working and that you both knew it was over, or something along those lines. I suggested couples counselling and like a weekend getaway for you to reconnect. He said that nothing would fix it and it wasn't worth trying. He then kissed me. I stopped it and told him that I would refuse to even consider anything unless he left you. He tried to kiss me again, saying it didn't matter because it wasn't working, and I asked him to leave. If I led him on or gave him the wrong impression, I apologise, but I thought we were just friends and nothing more. And I thought that you needed to know."

A few tears slipped down her face, and she walked into the kitchen, filled up a glass of water and drained it instantly. She then came back to stand in front of me, "Thank you for telling me. And thank you for stopping it before it went too far."

"It was the right thing to do," I said, turning to leave.

"Rory?" She said, and I turned back to her, "Did you consider it?"

"Not seriously. I like the idea of being with him again, but he's married and it was wrong. If he was single, I probably would have gone through with it," I admitted, "Is that important?"

"No, but it makes me feel better," She said softly.

"Goodbye, Lindsay."

* * *

I collapsed into a chair at Luke's where Mom was waiting for me. Actually, she was flirting with Luke, especially after their kiss last night, but she turned to me the moment I walked in, "How'd it go?"

"All things considering, pretty well," I said, sinking down into a chair, "I need coffee in an IV."

"Hey, that's my line!" She teased, coming and sitting down, handing me the mug in her hands, "I have a date tonight."

"Ooh," I teased before draining the cup of its contents, "It's about time you two got your acts together."

"How long have you been waiting for this?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Too long."

* * *

It was close to 10 when someone knocked on the door that night. Mom had left at 8 and I half expected it to be her and she had forgotten her keys. I got to the door and realised it wasn't her. The shadow told me that it was Dean, and I didn't want to deal with him. I turned to walk away when he knocked again, more persistently, "I know you're in there, Rory. I just want to talk."

"No, thank you," I called back, walking away. Mom had told me to avoid opening the door to him if at all possible since he would probably be angry, and I was about 90% certain that he was here because he had spoken to Lindsay.

"I know where the spare key is so you might as well let me in," He said in an annoyed tone and I sighed, walking back to the door. We needed to move that spare key and only tell certain people.

"You're not coming in," I said as I opened the door, "What do you want?"

"You know exactly why I'm here," He said angrily, "You talked to Lindsay?"

"You didn't tell me that I couldn't – you said your marriage was over," I told him, "If it was really over, it wouldn't be a big deal. You even said it wouldn't be a big deal if we did something."

"I know you're being obtuse on purpose but you didn't need to tell her. I would have told her," He insisted, "You ruined my marriage."

I furrowed my brow, "Huh? How'd you figure? You kissed me."

"She didn't need to know!" He shouted as Mom and Luke pulled in. I sunk away from him as he continued shouting, "I kissed you, you rejected me, and therefore, it didn't matter!"

"It doesn't work like that!" I shouted back, "Kissing another girl is cheating, even if she turns you down. And again, you said that your marriage was over, so why does it matter that I told her?"

"Dean," My mother said sternly, rushing up to the porch with Luke following behind her, "You need to leave. Now."

He swore and stormed off. I sighed and walked to my room, suddenly exhausted. Mom could tell me about her date in the morning.

* * *

"Coffee please," I muttered, dropping into a chair. I hadn't slept very well and I had spent half the night worrying about whether anyone (other than Mom and Luke) had heard Dean last night. While I didn't mind if the world knew about what he did, I didn't want it to come back on me or Lindsay, especially since it's not our fault, and I knew how judgemental the town could be.

Mom placed a mug and a plate of pancakes in front of me, the plastic tubs that they came in on the counter, and I knew what that possibly meant. She sat down in front of me, "Your grandmother called, she's having a great time in Paris. She also asked whether you were okay since you seemed off at our lunch a few days ago and was a little worried."

"What did you tell her?" I asked after taking a sip of coffee.

"I told her that you were tired since we had a long night at the inn. I decided you could tell her if you wanted but it's not mine to share," She said, and then sighed, "Babette heard you and Dean last night. Everyone knows what happened, or they know what Dean revealed. They obviously don't know the full story."

"I suspected as much, the breakfast gave it away," I said after swallowing the bite of pancakes, "I hope Lindsay is okay."

"It's weird," Mom said, "You've hated Lindsay for months and now you're worried about her? I mean, I get it, but it's strange."

"I hated that she expected Dean to do all of the money-earning jobs for the things she wanted, and I hated that she asked Dean to give up college for the same reasons since I knew that if he dropped out now, he'd probably never go back and then his smarts would be wasted. I wanted the best for Dean like he wanted the best for me – when me and Dean spoke about it, later on, he said that I was the only person who was thinking about what was best for him," I explained, "I still think she was wrong for doing what she did, but if you remember, Dean wanted a housewife to wait on him hand and foot and for him to be the money earner, so he had to have seen it coming. And even though I disagree with her attitude to Dean in regards to his future and only thinking about her wishes, she didn't deserve this. If he was unhappy, he had plenty of other options."

"So, you still don't like her?" Mom asked, a little amused.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug, "I only got Dean's half of the story so I could be completely off-base in my judgements of her, and I don't really know her as a person. Maybe he offered to do those things and then complained about it, or maybe he... I don't know."

I returned to eating, wanting to finish before the pancakes got cold.

* * *

That afternoon, we started walking to the inn, hoping not to see anyone that would say something. We had just past the gazebo when someone walked up to us, "You're Rory, right?"

I nodded, a little worried. She smiled warmly, "I'm Lindsay's mom. I just wanted to thank you for telling her what happened."

"I'd want someone to tell me if I was in her shoes," I said.

"Well, for what it's worth, you did the right thing. I hope you know that," She told me, and then walked away before I had a chance to respond. I smiled to myself; _I did the right thing._

**Author's Note:**

> This was how I would have liked the episode to go, so I decided to write it. I hope you liked it, and please review and tell me what you thought.


End file.
